Stories and Reflections

Axel recounts more than forty stories about the people who have influenced him most throughout his life — his family, friends, artists, colleagues, clients, and unforgettable mentors — in this memoir that is personal, funny, insightful, and permeated with humility, wisdom, and lessons learned.

He reflects on the key moments in his life from childhood to the present — Rudolf Nureyev’s visit to the Vervoordt’s new castle, his youthful acquisition of a Magritte, discovering Japanese Gutai art, his legendary Venice exhibitions, and insights gained from artists such as Cy Twombly, Anish Kapoor, and musician Mstislav Rostropovich. He details his greatest successes, as well as his personal regrets, while offering first-hand insight into the work that has forged his reputation. A larger-than-life and inspiring man, this book offers snapshots from his life, which paint an overall portrait of his guiding philosophies.

Masatoshi Masanobu

This monograph is published on the occasion of Masatoshi Masanobu’s solo exhibitions at Axel Vervoordt Gallery in Antwerp and Hong Kong in 2017. It includes many historical images and unpublished biographical materials, found in the artist’s personal archives. The publication gives an overview of Masanobu’s body of work, and features extensive writings by Gutai connoisseur Koichi Kawasaki, art critic and curator Tsukasa Ikegami and Ming Tiampo, professor at Carleton University of Ottawa and co-curator of the exhibition Gutai: Splendid Playground at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York City, USA. This publication, together with the series of exhibitions, aim to contribute to the urgent need for scholarship on this lesser-known Gutai artist.

Published by Axel Vervoordt Gallery in collaboration with AsaMer, an imprint of MER. Paper Kunsthalle, this hardcover book is available in English since November 2017.

This book can be ordered via this link here. The price is 45€.
(additional shipping charges are due depending on address and volume. In general: +/-10 € for Belgium, +/-40 € for shipment within Europe/US/Asia)

Intuition

This catalogue was published on the occasion of the exhibition Intuition, the exhibition in Palazzo Fortuny during the Biennale di Venezia curated by Axel Vervoordt and Daniela Ferretti, en suite to the highly acclaimed exhibitions from the past Artempo (2007), In-finitum (2009), TRA (2011), Tàpies, lo sguardo dell’artista (2013) and PROPORTIO (2015). Organised by the Axel & May Vervoordt Foundation and the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, the exhibition examines what role intuition plays in an artist’s creative process? what is intuition and how does it work? Described in various circumstances as a subconscious activity, a gut feeling, a sixth sense, or a hunch — intuition is a mysterious process that gives us the ability to know something without proof or evidence. It guides us to act in a certain way without knowing exactly why or how. It’s a bridge between the conscious and unconscious mind, between instinct and reason, between perception, logic, and the leap from a question to its answer. Intuition has consistently provoked vast fields of research. Everyone from philosophers, physicists, artists, actors, mathematicians, neuroscientists, musicians, to many others, have tried to offer their understanding of its mysterious processes. A challenging and complex topic, intuition has fascinated and perplexed some of humanity’s greatest minds for centuries.

Held at the Palazzo Fortuny in Venice, the exhibition Intuition brings together historic, modern, and contemporary artworks related to dreams, meditation, telepathy, creative power, and inspiration. Spanning diverse geographies and cultures, the exhibition explores how intuition has shaped our collective understanding of art for generations. The exhibition aims to provoke questions about the origins of creation, which is constantly evolving. Therefore, this ambitious project is necessarily to be seen as a work in progress, with leading contemporary artists creating a dialogue with historic works staged within the unique character of Mariano Fortuny’s former home.

English version out of stock
Italian version available

This book can be ordered via this link here. The price is 65€.
(additional shipping charges are due depending on address and volume. In general: +/-10 € for Belgium, +/-40 € for shipment within Europe/US/Asia)

Michel Mouffe

Michel Mouffe – Alphabet is the artist's first comprehensive monograph. Conceived as the sequence of letters in the alphabet, this book gives an insight into Michel Mouffe’s body of work through a series of writings and conversations he shared with independent curator Joel Benzakin.

What happens on the hidden side of the canvas? Does the stretcher have a hidden meaning?

Above all, it’s a presence that could be considered the subject (in the traditional sense) of the painting, the element of drawing in the painting.

Initially, I made the stretchers myself. In doing so, a certain consciousness of the materiality of the object painting appeared: a canvas and a frame — themselves supported by a cross in the centre that stiffens the whole. With these first stretchers, it became clear to me that this wooden cross could help me create the motif of my painting.

From the very start, I took into account a certain number of specific peculiarities of painting, because painting was the domain I wanted to explore — though at the time the dominant view was that painting was close to death or dead already.

Maekawa II

MAEKAWA II is Axel Vervoordt Gallery’s second publication on the Japanese artist Tsuyoshi Maekawa (1936). While MAEKAWA I focuses on his works from the 1960s, the time he was a member of the Gutai Art Association, this monograph aims to shed light on his post-Gutai activity during the 1970s. The 1970s were a difficult period for the former members of the Gutai group to maintain their identities as artists. The sudden death of the group’s leader Jiro Yoshihara in 1972 seems to have caused them a great deal of anxiety about their future. There is something truly amazing about the way in which Maekawa’s art developed during the seventies. With every exhibition, his efforts grew increasingly profound as he freely manipulated burlap and sewed it into complex waveforms, squares and triangles. Having fallen in love with the texture of burlap fabric, Maekawa had been working during the 1970s with sewn burlap as a material, making abstract relief works, many of them dyed with various shades of colour.

“Maekawa sprays colour on the fabric in places, and its rugged, tactile texture and colours that lack gloss, yet seem imbued with moisture, resonate with the linear forms, producing an outpouring of deep yet cosily familiar emotion, beautifully imbuing this unique material with an inner life to elevate it to the realm of universal human expression.” (Masaru Aguro on page 22)
By hand of historical documentations, photographs and writings, this publication aims to illustrate and explore the richness of the material in the artist’s body of work during the seventies. Published by Axel Vervoordt Gallery in collaboration with AsaMer, an imprint of MER. Paper Kunsthalle, this hardcover book is published in March 2017 in English.

Ryuji Tanaka

Japanese artist Ryuji Tanaka (Japan, 1927-2014) joined the important avant-garde group Gutai Art Association for only two years, between 1965 and 1967. He was one of the best friends of Kazuo Shiraga, who introduced him to the leader of the Gutai movement, Jiro Yoshihara. This strong friendship influenced him a great deal. In the early 1960s, prior to his Gutai period, Tanaka produced a number of works with mineral pigments, often numbered and entitled Sei. He is one of the unique artists who practiced the techniques of traditional Japanese painting, nihon-ga. Instead of common oil paint, the nihon-ga technique is based on mineral pigments in different colours fixed with glue. In these mineral works, the material flashes and brightens up the darker background of the canvas. He used powder and stones, glue, lacquer and many of the traditional materials, but in a totally new and different way while developing his language of painting.

This publication is the first monograph on the work Ryuji Tanaka, published on the occasion of the artist’s solo exhibition at Axel Vervoordt Gallery in Antwerp that took place from 10 March until 30 April 2016. It shows unpublished historical photographic documentation, found in the artist’s personal archives and in the Gutai’s archives from the Osaka City Museum of Modern Art. The publication gives an overview of Tanaka’s body of work, and features extensive writings by Gutai connoisseurs Koichi Kawasaki, Shoichi Hirai and Alexandre Carel. This monograph, together with our exhibition, aim to contribute to the urgent need for scholarship on this lesser-known Gutai artist.

Published by Axel Vervoordt Gallery in collaboration with AsaMer, an imprint of MER. Paper Kunsthalle, this hardcover book is available in English since May 2016.

Shozo Shimamoto

“Initially, Shimamoto started from the perspective of painting, but he was permanently seeking a means to free himself of a purely pictorial context. Since the beginning of Gutai, he was able to build up a strong reputation as an experimental artist working in different media, exploring concepts of time and space, while simultaneously focusing on his mechanistic methods. He perforated canvases, shot paint with cannons on large sheets of vinyl, smashed glass bottles filled with paint on canvases, realized sculptures from razorblades, scratched and colorized films, and made violent and destructive installations with light and music for the theatre stage. In the course of his work, Shimamoto has independently obtained results which normally only more than one artist could achieve.” - Tijs Visser, as published in his essay ‘A space that deserves The Name of Art’, p. 17.

Our newest monograph about Shozo Shimamoto, one of the main proponents of the Gutai Art Association, features historical photographic documentation, illustrating the processes behind his body of work, as well as extensive writings by Yoshio Katoh, Tijs Visser, Lorenzo Mango, Andrea Mardegan and Axel Vervoordt.

Published by Axel Vervoordt Gallery in collaboration with AsaMer, an imprint of MER. Paper Kunsthalle, this hardcover book is available in English since March 2016 and can be ordered here

The price is 35€

Additional shipping charges are due depending on address and volume. In general: +/- 10€ for Belgium, +/- 40€ for shipment within Europe/US/Asia

Dominique Stroobant

On the occasion of Dominique Stroobant’s exhibition Axel Vervoordt Gallery publishes the first monograph on the artist. The book gives an overview of his body of work as well as an insight into the artist’s mind, by bringing together many historical images and unpublished biographical material from the artist’s personal archive. First starting with photos of the artist’s environment and workspace, taken by Laziz Hamani, the book further continues with several texts. Besides Dominique Stroobant’s own words, it also contains essays by Angela Thomas, Dirk Pörschman and Axel Vervoordt. The body of the book consists of a chronological overview of Stroobant’s work. Photos, notes, sketches, quotes, studies and models reflect the chaotic and winding nature of his practice. Subsequently, Stroobant’s completed sculptures in stone, granite, steel and marble are shown, once again through the lens of Hamani, who hovered over the smooth surface of the works and delivered equally sleek and profound photos.

Published by Axel & May Vervoordt Foundation in association AsaMER, an imprint of MER. Paper Kunsthalle, this book is available in English since October 2015 and can be ordered here.
The price is 45€.
(additional shipping charges are due depending on address and volume. In general: +/- 10€ for Belgium, +/- 40€ for shipment within Europe/US/Asia.)

PROPORTIO

This catalogue was published on the occasion of the exhibition PROPORTIO, the exhibition in Palazzo Fortuny during the Biennale di Venezia curated by Axel Vervoordt and Daniela Ferretti, en suite to the highly acclaimed exhibitions from the past Artempo (2007), In-finitum (2009), TRA (2011) and Tàpies, lo sguardo dell’artista (2013). Organised by the Axel & May Vervoordt Foundation and the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, the exhibition explores the omnipresence of universal proportions in art, science, music and architecture.

The catalogue for the exhibition contains thorough academic essays from scientists, musicians, architects and artists, including Bernard Lietaer (Professor and international expert in the design and implementation of currency systems, Belgium); Giulio d’Alessio (musician and artistic director of the orchestra "Il Pomo d'Oro" and of Inspiratum, Italy); Ludovica Lumer (Neuroscientist Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, UCL London and Milano-Bicocca University); Spyros Papapetros (Professor History and Theory of Architecture at Princeton University, USA); Eddie De Wolf (Professor in Physics at the Universiteit Antwerpen, Belgium); Gira Gratier (Expert in Jainism, Belgium & India); Francesco Poli (Artcritic and teacher at Université Paris 8). All artworks from the exhibition are illustrated in the catalogue, each one featuring a comment or quote from the artist or connoisseur about the meaning of proportions.

Available in English (Italian version only in Italy available)

This book can be ordered via here. The price is 65€.
(additional shipping charges are due depending on address and volume. In general: +/-10 € for Belgium, +/-40 € for shipment within Europe/US/Asia)

Monograph Yuko Nasaka

Yuko Nasaka (°1936, Japan) is one of the few female members of the Gutai Art Association, Japan’s most important avant-garde (1954-1972) that has regained its place in art history in recent years with shows in many important international museums, like the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Nasaka is a prominent voice of Gutai’s last generation artists who used experimental technology and cutting edge materials to give body to Gutai leader Yoshihara’s credo to “be original and to create something that has never been created before in a manner that has never been used before. Almost obsessively Nasaka used a pottery wheel and acrylic resin lacquer to make circles on wooden boards. These circles where assembled into large works that could fill entire exhibition walls, giving the viewer a dazzling experience.
At the occasion of our exhibition we are publishing a monograph on Yuko Nasaka. This book is the first monograph about Yuko Nasaka. It brings together many historic images and documents of the Gutai period, from the artist’s personal archive and found in the archives of the Ashiya City Museum of Art & History. It contains an unpublished interview with Nasaka, as well as two essays by Gutai specialists Prof. Ming Tiampo and Midori Yoshimoto placing her work in a broader Gutai context.

This monograph is published on the occasion of Yuko Nasaka’s solo exhibition at the Axel Vervoordt Gallery, Antwerp (12 March - 25 April 2015) and can be ordered here. The price is 40€.
(additional shipping charges are due depending on address and volume. In general: +/- 10€ for Belgium, +/- 40€ for shipment within Europe/US/Asia.)

Monograph Kazuo Shiraga

The common search for a new reality, breaking down conventions to reveal essential cornerstones makes the Gutai movement more topical than ever; a search for essence that challenges the social fabric of today’s society.

The publication contains a never before published personal notebook of the artist providing an insight into the painting process and his public performances and a full and comprehensive overview of his works and career. The monograph includes unpublished texts and unedited historical pictures, thanks to the support of the archives of Shiraga in Japan. Gutai experts such as Koichi Kawasaki, John Rajchman, Ming Tiampo, and Reiko Tomii share their thoughts and input on Kazuo Shiraga.

This book can be ordered here. The price is 78€.
(additional shipping charges are due depending on address and volume. In general: +/- 10€ for Belgium, +/- 40€ for shipment within Europe/US/Asia.)

Jef Verheyen - Le peintre flamant

This book on the work of the most important Belgian ZERO artists Jef Verheyen (1932-84), was published to accompany the exhibition “Jef Verheyen and friends”, held at the Langen Foundation in Neuss (Germany) in 2011.The exhibition was curated by Mattijs Visser and Dirk Pörschmann as part of the Düsseldorf Quadriennale, in co-operation with the ZERO Foundation and the Vervoordt Foundation.

Jef Verheyen is known for his extensive explorations of the phenomena of light and colour. His connections to Düsseldorf and Germany and his amicable contact with Lucio Fontana, Piero Manzoni, Heinz Mack, Otto Piene, Yves Klein and other protagonists of ZERO, form the starting point of the exhibition and this book. It illustrates the works in the exhibition and shows many unpublished historical pictures from the Fotomuseum in Antwerp and from the personal archive of Léonore Verheyen, the artist’s daughter. It includes essays by Beate Kemfert, Tiziana Caianiello, Johan Pas, Francesca Pola Dirk Pörschmann, Jenny Trautwein and Mattijs Visser. The book also contains several interviews with Verheyen's friends, who describe their personal relationship with the artist.

Available in English and German (ASA Publishers, 2010)

This book can be ordered here, the price is 45€
(additional shipping charges are due depending on address and volume. In general: +/-10 € for Belgium, +/-40 € for shipment within Europe/US/Asia)

Maekawa

The work of Tsuyoshi Maekawa (°1936, Japan) is an ode to matter. From the beginning he chose jute as a his main material. As is common to the art of all Gutai artists, his practice entails an authentic and personal approach with great respect for the material in all its purity. Matter is his true vehicle of expression and represents nothing other than itself. The artist is entirely at the behest of the medium. The tactility he manages to convey is deeply moving.

Published by the Axel and May Vervoordt Foundation in association with Axel Vervoordt Gallery, 2014.

The catalogue contains many unpublished historic image of Maekawa's Gutai period as well as an interview with the artist by Koichi Kawasaki and an essay by internationally renowned Gutai connaisseur Shoichi Hirai.

This book can be ordered here. The price is 40 €.
(additional shipping charges are due depending on address and volume. In general: +/-10 € for Belgium, +/-40 € for shipment within Europe/US/Asia)

Leap into the Void

This catalogue was published on the occasion of the exhibition Leap into the Void, at the Axel Vervoordt Gallery in Antwerp (30 January - 9 March 2014).

Leap into the Void is a group exhibition with works by Lucio Fontana, Anish Kapoor, Yves Klein, Rei Naito, Kichizaemon Raku, Shozo Shimamoto, Hiroshi Sugimoto and Jef Verheyen, letting the viewer experience the potentially transformative powers of the Void.

The exhibition parts from Yves Klein’s photo collage from 1960, in which he jumps off of a rooftop into empty space. His leap into the Void is the perfect metaphor for the new artistic sensibilities that were in the air all over the world in the 1950s and 1960s. Many avant-gardes of that time longed for a new beginning after the disasters of the War and hoped to contribute to the recovery of the world through their creativity. They wished to detach themselves form the burden of (art) history, to make tabula rasa and go on a quest for the essence of art. The most important quality all these Post-War avant-gardes shared was their fascination for the all-encompassing dimension of the Void, a hopeful, shared space full of possibilities. The Void is a space in which creativity is born, a kind of non-space outside time, inconceivable yet defining who we are and how we act in relation to the other.

Living with Light

The art of harmonious living is presented in this volume through 15 bespoke interiors recently designed by the Axel Vervoordt Company. These inspired interiors convey the concepts that compel our design team most, including time, space, and a strong luminous presence. Whether a historic estate in the country or modern home in the city, these projects are united by stories told through the serenity and sensibility of light.
Photographer Laziz Hamani focuses brilliantly upon the unique design details and the carefully constructed interiors of each striking space.

Under the direction of Boris Vervoordt
Foreword by Axel Vervoordt, Text by Michael Gardner, Photography by Laziz Hamani

Lucia Bru

This catalogue was published on the occasion of the exhibition Lucia Bru - Aucune Ombre, at the Axel Vervoordt Gallery in Antwerp (5 September - 13 October 2013).

Lucia Bru’s sculptural installations are a delicate dialogue between the vulnerability of the naked object and the surrounding space in which it tries to find its place.
Spatial details—be they real or only virtual abstract concepts—are isolated, accentuated and elaborated in an object. They are given a monumentality, which destabilizes the viewer and makes them more aware of their own body in time and space.
Bru creates her own unique form language, based on pure geometrical laws, yet distorted by the reality of her own body. She consciously adds human insecurity to geometrical structures, which lends a special narrative power to her abstract, visual vocabulary. Her objects are small incarnations of human vulnerability; they are a breath in abstract space.

Tàpies, Lo sguardo dell’ artista

This catalogue was published on the occasion of the exhibition Tàpies. Lo sguardo dell'artista, at the Palazzo Fortuny in Venice (1 June – 24 November 2013).

Catalan artist Antoni Tàpies' life (1923-2012) was marked by existential questioning. Philosophers, religious thinkers, scientists, Old Masters and contemporary artists alike influenced his artistic practice. Tàpies' impulse to collect stemmed directly from this fascination. Constantly seeking a link between the many cultures, geographies and epochs of humanity, his spiritual quest typified all his artistic preoccupations. The 2013 exhibition Tàpies. Lo sguardo dell'artista (The eye of the artist) at Palazzo Fortuny presents a thoughtful selection of Tàpies' own work in the broader context of his collection. The intimacy of the house of Mariano Fortuny, himself a kaleidoscopic collector, extends the dialogue. This book endeavors to convey the spirit of Tàpies' art and his extraordinary eye as both an artist and a collector.

Ida Barbarigo

On the occasion of the exhibition "Ida Barbarigo - Unity in the Depth." we have published the monograph Ida Barbarigo.
This publication is the first survey of Barbarigo’s work from 1959 ‘till 1964, supplemented with her most recent work.
The book contains a moving essay by Giovanna Dal Bon in which she introduces the reader to Barbarigo’s work in a poetic way.
It also brings together many unpublished historic photographs that were discovered in the archives of Ida Barbarigo and her belated husband Zoran Music.

This book can be ordered here The price is 40 €.
(additional shipping charges are due depending on address and volume. In general: +/-10 € for Belgium, +/-40 € for shipment within Europe/US/Asia)

Norio Imai

Catalogue of the exhibition Norio Imai - White Event at Axel Vervoordt Gallery (14 March - 21 April 2013).
Norio Imai (°1946, Osaka) is the youngest member of the Japanese avant-garde movement Gutai. With his work he creates a monumental, monochrome white silence in space. For the artist, white is the ultimate colour, a non-colour combining all colours in perfect harmony. White is a full emptiness. Imai’s work goes beyond form and emanates a cosmic force.

This book will be presented in preview at the opening of Gutai: Splendid Playground at the Guggenheim museum in New York (15 February - 8 May 2013).

Published by the Axel and May Vervoordt Foundation in association with Axel Vervoordt Gallery, 2013.

Takis - The Fourth Dimension

Catalogue of the Takis exhibition at Axel Vervoordt Gallery (25 October - 2 December 2012).
Takis (°1925, Athens, Greece) has devoted most of his artistic life to research into magnetism. As an instinctive savant, he believes all communication occurs through magnetic fields. Magnetic energies are his primary, unseen material, which he stages in all manner of ways so as to render them visible. Takis has consistently translated this poetic approach to science into works that sensitively deploy the forces of nature.

With his Signals, Magnetic Walls and Musicales, Takis makes invisible energies palpable and invites the spectator to enter into a wordless, energetic dialogue. In a way he both literally and figuratively charges the void, in order to make it eloquent. Instead of working with representations, the works are presentations of energies for us to engage with directly: the works’ impact is immediate. The works have a tangible effect on the viewer, who is touched by energies emitting from the work, which the artist claims can have a harmonizing effect. Rendering the void positive as a director of energies, in his works Takis invites viewers to engage with the Fourth Dimension.

Published by the Vervoordt Foundation in association with Axel Vervoordt Gallery, 2012.

At Home with May and Axel Vervoordt

In this volume, May Vervoordt at last divulges her entertaining secrets and one hundred light, easy-to-prepare recipes. Creating dishes and table settings that complement one another, striking the perfect balance between simplicity and refinement, her approach to hosting is unique because it can be adapted to suit every occasion, from family meals to large parties. Her recipes are guided by the seasons and place emphasis on garden-fresh vegetables, bringing out their natural flavor through her measured and original use of spices. A consummate hostess, May gives dinners that linger in the memory of all those who have had the privilege of being invited to dine at her table, whether in Antwerp, Venice or Verbier. Remarkable photographs extend an intimate invitation to readers, so they, too, can enjoy her special blend of home entertaining.

Available in:

English - At Home with May and Axel Vervoordt (Flammarion, 2012)

French - A la table de May (Flammarion, 2012)

German - Zu Gast Bei May Vervoordt (Jacoby Stuart, 2012)
Dutch version is out of stock.

This book can be ordered here, the price is 35 € - please indicate desired language
(additional shipping charges are due depending on address and volume. In general: +/-10 € for Belgium, +/-40 € for shipment within Europe/US/Asia)

TRA. Edge of Becoming

This catalogue was published on the occasion of the exhibition 'TRA. Edge of Becoming', which took place at Palazzo Fortuny in Venice in 2011. The titleTRA was chosen for its strong and suggestive conciseness. It also includes the word “art” (if read at the inverse). As preposition it signifies “in-between”, “inside”, and as prefix it has also the meaning of an action that goes “beyond”, “ahead of”. As a suffix, TRA is common to many Sanskrit words: mantra, tantra, yantra…TRA recalls the complex and problematic ensemble of cultural and symbolic meanings that are connected to the concept of threshold and door. It concerns a physical and mental place that defines the point of interrelation between inside and outside and vice versa. It relates to the idea of crossing, of being purified and renovated through a ritual or an initiation. It is the space (or empty space) between two dimensions that marks the moment of passage from a condition to another, a breach towards new experiences.This richly illustrated catalogue was edited by Axel Vervoordt and features essays by Francesco Poli, Rosa Martínez, Axel Vervoordt, Eddi de Wolf and Tatsuro Miki, and includes in situ images of the exhibition.

Available in English and Italian (Vervoordt Foundation in association Axel Vervoordt Gallery and Mer Paper Kunsthalle, 2011)

This book can be ordered here, the price is 45€
(additional shipping charges are due depending on address and volume. In general: +/-10 € for Belgium, +/-40 € for shipment within Europe/US/Adia)

Sadaharu Horio

Sadaharu Horio (°Kobe, 1939) can be considered as the most important artist of his generation. He joined the Gutai group in 1966 and has been expanding on the avant-garde spirit of Gutai with an impressive body of experimental work. The relationship between art and the everyday life lies at the core of Horio's practice, which can be seen as on ever-repeating ritual. There is the act of coloring objects, which he undertakes every day. There are the many performances, producing a myriad of drawings and painting.

As he would describe it: "Everything ordinary or unaffected is basically a performance." Not a matter of aestheticization, or of raising the banal to the level of art. All is in the non-referential action. Atsuo Yamamoto, former curator of The Museum of Modern Art in Shiga (Japan) writes about the work of Horio: "The idea of creating so many drawings are connected to issue of life and time. All his works are done under one theme, to make the "invisible" visible. Horio always tries to grasp air - emptiness - or time, so essential for human beings ..."

Published by the Vervoordt Foundation in association with Axel Vervoordt Gallery, 2011

This book can be ordered here, the price is 35€
(additional shipping charges are due depending on address and volume. In general: +/-10 € for Belgium, +/-40 € for shipment within Europe/US/Asia)

Axel Vervoordt: Wabi Inspirations

Wabi is a Japanese concept that derives from simplicity and authenticity. It values the beauty in imperfection. Elegance in natural materials, nobility without sophistication, timelessness with tradition: these are the principles that define Axel Vervoordt's personal take on the concept. In this book, he reveals his interiors that are inspired by Wabi, showing readers how to create calm, peaceful spaces in which beauty is distilled to its purest form. Photographs by Laziz Hamani plunge us into the unique atmosphere of these Wabi inspirations.

This book can be ordered here, the price is 50€ - please specify desired language
(additional shipping charges are due depending on address and volume. In general: +/-10 € for Belgium, +/-40 € for shipment within Europe/US/Asia)

IN-FINITUM

The exhibition In-Finitum, the third part of the trilogy, that began in 2007 with Artempo. Where Time becomes Art and continued with Academia. Qui es-tu? in Paris in 2008, displayed about 300 objects on the 4 levels of Palazzo Fortuny in Venice. The works of art range from archaeological non-finished items over incomplete Old Master paintings to contemporary installations capturing the infinity.

Seeking to penetrate the mystery of the infinite—as philosophers, theologians, mathematicians, physicists, poets, writers, and artists have attempted to do throughout history—signifies entering the boundless and labyrinthine territories of the indeterminate, the absolute, the sum total of the incalculable, the indescribable, the immense, the cosmic, the infinitesimal, the transfinite, the extreme, the divine, Nothingness, the void. The Latin term infinitum has been divided by a hyphen into in-finitum to suggest a more complex and problematic interpretation, including “the infinite in the finite,” the indefinite, and the unfinished.

ACADEMIA

Axel Vervoordt presents Academia: Qui es-tu?, taking place at La Chapelle de l’Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France, from September 10 until November 23, 2008. It is the second part of a trilogy which started with the exhibition Artempo: When time becomes Art and which ran at the Palazzo Fortuny in Venice, Italy, between June and November last year. The trilogy will be completed in 2009 with the Venice-based L’Infinito del Non Finito.

Academia: Qui es-tu? is accompanied by a richly illustrated catalogue published in English and French (2 separate versions) by MER Paper Kunsthalle, Ghent. A collector’s item in its own right, the catalogue features a preface by Henry-Claude Cousseau, Directeur de l’Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts and Giandomenico Romanelli, Director of the City Museums in Venice, and essays by Eddi De Wolf, René de Bartiral, Bernard Lietaer and Dominique Païni.

Published by Axel Vervoordt in association with Mer Paper Kunsthalle, 2008

This book can be ordered here, the price is 50€
(additional shipping charges are due depending on address and volume. In general: +/-10 € for Belgium, +/-40 € for shipment within Europe/US/Asia)

ARTEMPO

Artempo. Where Time Becomes Art is a richly illustrated book published to accompany the exhibition in Palazzo Fortuny, Venice, from 9 June till 7 October 2007. Artempo, organised by the Musei Civici Veneziani and Axel Vervoordt examines the relationship between art and time by representing a breath of cultures and periods, featuring more than 300 objects and works of art from various artists.
The book includes essays by the Artempo curators Mattijs Visser, Giandomenico Romanelli and Jean-Hubert Martin. It contains additional essays by Massimo Cacciari, Italian philosopher and politician, currently Mayor of Venice, Heinz-Norbert Jocks, Art Critic and Art Historian and Eddi De Wolf, Professor and researcher at the Universiteit Antwerpen. It contains 300 full-colour illustrations of the objects on display, as well as photographs of the installation in the Palazzo Fortuny.

Published by Axel Vervoordt in association with Mer Paper Kunsthalle 2007

Timeless Interiors

Axel Vervoordt, one of the most original antique dealers today, reveals for the first time the interiors he created for twenty-three private homes in Europe and the United States. Vervoordt's signature style juxtaposes furniture, accessories, and objets d'art from all eras and cultures, resulting in truly timeless interiors that transcend fashion. From the rustic charm of a Tuscan farmhouse to the classic grandeur of a Bordeaux châteaux or the modern allure of a Miami mansion, Vervoordt's creations are perfectly in tune with the character and history of each space. Each illustrates the eclecticism that is central to Vervoordt's design aesthetic, and all, in their unique ways and regardless of scale, are intimate family homes. Each home has its history, and Axel Vervoordt shares both the stories and the journeys that led him to discover them. Along the way he reveals the heart and soul of each home - the very essence of Axel Vervoordt's style.

This book can be ordered here, the price is 65€ - please specify desired language
(additional shipping charges are due depending on address and volume. In general: +/-10 € for Belgium, +/-40 € for shipment within Europe/US/Asia)

The Story of a Style

Regarded as one of the most original and adventurous collectors and dealers of our time, Axel Vervoordt is best known to the general public for the extraordinary furnishings of his exhibition stands at major international fairs. Rightly considering himself an eclectic collector and dealer, Axel Vervoordt treasures the timeless and disdains the trendy. In this book, through Vervoordt's own words and photographs of the interiors of his castle near Antwerp and of his gallery in a restored industrial complex on the banks of the Antwerp canal, his special genius for creating unique and beautiful interiors is revealed. Vervoordt's taste spans centuries, continents and economic strata, and his profound knowledge of the history of fine and applied arts has led him to create spaces in which his juxtaposition of objects form vastly different eras and cultures makes a strong and impressive statement on present and future interior taste.

This book can be ordered here, the price is 75€ - please specify the desired language
(additional shipping charges are due depending on address and volume. In general: +/-10 € for Belgium, +/-40 € for shipment within Europe/US/Asia)